Xiaomi’s Linux laptop will be available in early 2016

Good news for anyone looking to avoid the Microsoft tax: Chinese electronics behemoth Xiaomi is reportedly planning to launch an affordable Linux laptop in early 2016.

Xiaomi has made supply chain orders for 750,000 laptops, according to industry site Digitimes is reporting. It would be the first laptop made by Xiaomi, and could give desktop Linux a mainstream user base across the planet.
There have been Linux laptops before, but generally they’re aimed less at consumers than developers. Joey-Elijah Sneddon of OMG Ubuntu has high hopes for what the laptop could mean for Linux’s popularity in the People’s Republic.